Major change unlikely amid open-Internet ruling

The 2010 rules barred Verizon and other wireless carriers from blocking competing services, such as Internet calling applications and websites run by rivals. They also had to allow access to all legal websites though a phone’s Web browser, regardless of whether they are competitors.

But carriers were allowed to block stand-alone apps — a common way of accessing services on mobile devices — as long as the apps didn’t directly compete with them. The rules also gave wireless carriers more leeway to manage data traffic because there’s less capacity over the airwaves.

And the rules said nothing about charging customers for access. Last week, AT&T announced a “1-800″ toll-free equivalent for wireless data. Websites that pay for the service will be toll free for AT&T’s wireless customers, meaning the traffic won’t count against a surfer’s monthly allotment of data. AT&T said the practice complies with the FCC’s rules because, apart from the billing, traffic from the sponsoring sites will still be treated the same as other traffic on the network.

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The open internet was struck a terrible blow, so it’s now more important than ever to understand the issues. For anyone who wants a refresher, here’s a helpful mockumentary about net neutrality: http://www.theinternetmustgo.com/‎